Are you kidding me?! In the U.S the wage gap between women and men is .71 cents per every dollar a man makes. Children are the future, women aren't being "paid to do nothing". They are literally birthing the work force of the future that will replace us once we reach retirement age just as we are replacing the baby boomers. The last thing we want to do is end up with a negative population ration like japan and the rest of the industrialized world. Without a continuation of workforce numbers the economy will slow as the population ages, eventually it may even stop and the civilization that had existed will die. On the note of pregnancy itself it is an arduous process and can put significant strain on a woman's body. It isn't 9 months of kicking back and playing -blam!-ing xbox. It is 9 months of watching what you eat, what medicines you take, focusing on your health and the baby. Not to mention the bloating, heart burn, acid reflux, urinary leakage, vomiting and nausea. That doesn't even cover birth. I am 100% on board for fathers having paternity leave to stay at home with newborn babes. What I'm not on board with is this ignorant bitching over something you don't even seem to understand. [spoiler]the US actually has the least amount of maturity leave for new parents in the entire industrialized world.[/spoiler]

I think either nobody should get maternity/paternity leave, or everyone should. Also, people without kids should get a little bonus at the end of the year for not having to leave work for weeks on end.

Maternity leave helps women recover physically and psychologically, and allows for the critical time required of a mother to share with the infant. Sure, men should get some leave to help with the burden, but there are significant physiological reasons in favor of women that just don't apply to men.

In general women get paid less than men who have the same job.

This kind of thinking is why modern feminism hasn't been laughed off the face of the earth.

[quote]The amount of "parental leave" due to pregnancy is very much a fiscal issue. When a woman is on paid maternity leave, she is effectively being paid for doing absolutely nothing work-related. This means that everyone else at your place of work has to pick up your slack during the mother's time off. Unless a woman chooses to not have a child (or cannot have a child) in her lifetime, this privilege is awarded to every woman who is pregnant. So even if a woman has to pick up the slack for another woman who is pregnant, it will even out for the currently working woman once she has a child. Unfortunately, nothing evens out for men. Collectively, women have to work less hard than men to receive the same wages. Maybe this plays into the alleged income gap?[/quote] You can do this in Canada. A man can take the leave if he wants to. In Canada we get a full year of parental leave paid through the federal employment insurance program. The leave can all be taken by one parent or split between the two.

Um no because men are not physically involved with child birth dumbass!

Sweden does it, IIRC. Apparently it's done wonders for family life, unless I'm totally mistaken.

No just no. Work for your money and stop looking for handouts.

Because if men had paternity leave, I would knock some random girl up for Destiny's launch.

Women receive the same wages? What country?